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BANCROFT    LIBRARY 


CROFT  UBBMY 


Y    fW 


Don  Erasmo  Seguin 


A  Spanish  Aristocrat,  a  trusted  Agent  of  Governor 
Martinez,  a  Counselor  of  Stephen  F.  Austin,  an  able 
Deputy  of  tJie  Mexican  State  of  Texas  to  the  National 
Congress,  a  Patriot  of  the  Republic  of  Texas 
and   a    loyal   Citizen  of   the   American   Commonwealth. 


By  J.  M.  WOODS 

SAN   ANTONIO,  TEXAS 

(All  Rights  Reserved) 


Bancroft  Library 


Don  Erasmo  Seguin 


From  the  study  of  the  glamorous  deeds  of  laudable  characters  of 
the  past  there  emanates  a  spirit  of  exaltation  that  lifts  the  mind 
above  the  disappointments  and  the  confusing  mists  of  today;  there 
is  revealed  a  conception  of  the  eternal  achievement  of  The  Great 
Architect  of  the  Universe  which  He  wrought  out  of  the  strife  and  tur- 
moil of  centuries  and  there  comes  to  the  student  a  purification  of  his 
soul,  higher,  purer  and  more  unselfish  aspirations  because  of  which 
he  should  be  the  better  enabled  to  discharge  the  purposes  for  his 
creation — which  are  to  honor  his  God,  serve  his  Country  and  benefit 
his  Fellowmen. 

As  Texans  we  are  at  this  time  chiefly  interested  in  the  entrancing, 
marvelous  story  of  The  Lone  Star  State,  worthy  as  it  is  of  the  pen 
of  a  Macaulay,  a  Prescott,  or  a  Ridpath;  but  the  songs  of  the  bravery 
of  its  men,  the  glory  of  its  women,  and  the  high  idealism,  the  hardi- 
hood and  audacity  of  its  people  in  the  face  of  privations,  overwhelm- 
'-^ing  numbers,  arms  and  munitions  of  war,  defeat,  and  massacre  are 
^yet  to  be  sung  in  their  full  beauty,  melody  and  grandeur! 
^      The  City  of  Seguin  and  Guadalupe  County  are  definitely  and  se- 
v^curely  linked  in  many  ways  and  through  the  sacrifices  of  their  gallant 
^dead  with  the  traditions,  the  glories  and  the  unselfish  devotion  of  the 
<^  heroic  pioneers  of  Texas,  they  being  a  composite  of  different  races 
^  with  multiform  characteristics,  and  yet  the  full  story  of  their  intri- 
cate connection  with  one  of  the  most  enthralling  characters  of  Texas 
history  has  not  yet  been  told! 
^^      Guadalupe   County    (so   named   after   the   Guadalupe   River  which 
:  flows  through  it  from  its  northwest  to  its  southeast  corners,  it  hav- 
ing been  discovered  and  so  named  in   1689  by  Count  de  Leon  while 
marching  from  Monclavia,  Mexico  to  exterminate  the  French  settle- 
^^ment  on  Matagorda  Bay — a  colorful  account  of  this  occurence  being 
_  set  forth  in  his  "Memories  de  Nueva  Espana")  has  in  the  name  of 
its  County  Seat  preserved  to  future  generations  the  identity  of  one 
-^Z^^f  the  most  noteworthy  personages  of  the  period  in  which  he  lived, 
•  one  who  by  the  force  of  his  character,  the  greatness  of  his  vision 
V^    and  the  generosity  of  his  nature  proved  himself  to  be   one  of  the 
grandest  figures  of  Texas  history! 

Largely  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  an  oil  portrait  of  Juan  N. 
Seguin  was  presented  to  the  City  of  Seguin  a  number  of  years  ago 
by  his  devoted  son,  he  sharing  his  fathers  political  views  and  being 
for  many  years  a  citizen  and  resident  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  the 
erroneous  impression  was  created,  and  has  been  quite  generally  ac- 
cepted, that  when  the  name  of  the  town  was  changed  from  "Walnut 
Springs"  to  that  of  "Seguin"  that  it  was  done  to  revere  the  memory 
of  Juan  M.  Seguin;  but  such  was  not  the  case. 


It  is  true  that  Juan  N.  Seguin,  a  son  of  Don  Erasmo  Seguin,  was  a 
prominent  figure  in  early  Texas  history,  he  entered  the  Alamo  with 
Travis;  he  was  sent  to  Goliad  to  raise  reinforcements  and  thereby 
escaped  the  massacre;  he  joined  Houston  on  the  Guadalupe  and 
fought  rear-guard  actions  with  the  advance  forces  of  Santa  Anna 
all  the  way  to  the  Brazos;  and  on  the  immortal  field  of  San  Jacinto 
he  commanded  a  company  of  Texa's-boi*n  Mexicans  and  gallantly  lee 
them  in  the  charge  of  the  Army  of  Independence  which  was  the  mo- 
tive force  that  created  a  new  Republic  and  gave  to  an  oppresse<3 
people  the  priceless  blessings  of  liberty! 

As  a  colonel  in  the  Texas  Army  and  under  Houston's  orders  Juar 
N.  Seguin  returned  to  San  Antonio  and  reverently  gave  Christiar 
burial  to  the  sacred  remains  of  the  devoted  champions  of  freedom  whc 
had  so  courageously  sacrificed  their  lives  as  burnt  offerings  upor 
the  altar  of  Liberty,  therefby  fanning  to  white  heat  the  wavering 
spark  of  independence  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  Texas! 

Following  the  proper  performance  of  this  duty  he  was  placed  in 
command  of  the  military  forces  at  San  Antonio,  and  when,  because 
of  the  exposed  position  of  the  city,  the  genei^al  staff  decreed  its  de- 
struction and  the  transfer  of  the  inhabitants  to  the  east  side  of  th( 
Guadalupe  River,  Seguin  so  earnestly  protested  that  the  order  wai 
rescinded. 

Later  he  represented  Bexar  County  in  the  Senate  of  the  Repub 
lie.  He  was  ambitious  for  higher  political  honors  which  he  felt  tha' 
he  could  attain  if  Texas  remained  a  Republic,  but  which  could  not  b( 
acquired  if  it  was  annexed  to  the  American  Union,  and  he  vigorously 
opposed  annexation.  He  felt  that  in  political  matters  he  was  dis 
crimioiated  against  and  was  mistreated  by  the  Anglo-Saxons  oJ 
Texas.  He  foreswore  his  allegiance  to  Texas,  moved  to  Mexico  anc 
tought  under  her  flag  against  the  Texans  and  later  the  Americans 
dying  a  citizen  of  Mexico. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  town  of  Seguin  was  so  named  to  com 
memorate  the  record  of  the  father  of  Juan  N.  Seguin,  Don  E'rasnn 
Seguin,  of  whom  the  historian  Thrall  said,  "He  was  a  high-tone< 
gentleman  of  truly  hoaiorable  and  patriotic  sentiments." 

In  1831  Humphreys  Branch,  a  Green  DeWitt  Colonist,  located  hi 
League  and  Labor  of  land,  upon  a  portion  of  which  the  City  o 
Seguin  is  situated,  moved  onto  it  in  1832  and  built  the  first  house  oi 
the  banks  of  Walnut  Branch  (the  former  name  of  the  City  of  Seguin 
in  1833. 

In  1834  Humphreys  Branch  sold  a  portion  of  his  League.  Th< 
Texas  Revolution  temporarily  arrested  the  development  of  th 
country,  but  in  1838  the  Town  of  Walnut  Springs  was  layed  out  am 
a  form  of  government  organized. 

Guadalupe  County,  originally  a  portion  of  Bexar  and  Gonzale 
Counties,  was  created  by  Act  of  the  Texas  Legislature  in  1846. 

The  writer  hereof  has  had  the  pleasurable  opportunity  of  knowinj 
intimately  a  few  of  the  descendants  of  that  group  of  sixteen  familie 


of  Canary  Islanders  of  the  best  and  proudest  blood  of  old  Spam  who 
emigrated  to  the  "New  Philipines"  (later  to  be  known  as  "San  Fer- 
nandez", San  Antonio  de  Bexar,  and  now  San  Antonio)  under  the 
patronage  of  the  Marquis  of  Casa  Fuerta,  and  who  in  1731  estab- 
iished  the  first  municipal  government  of  Texas  at  the  site  of  their 
new  home. 

Among  these  he  notes  with  pride  Mrs.  Carolina  Jarvis,  wife  of 
his  friend,  E.  L.  Jarvis,  a  charming  and  cultured  lady,  a  great,  great 
grand-daughter  of  Don  Erasmo  Seguin;  Mrs.  Antonio  Sandoval  and 
her  nephew,  P.  M.  Batisto,  lineal  descendants  of  those  notable  heroes 
of  Texas,  Francisco  Ruiz  and  Jose  Nararro,  both  of  whom  signed  the 
Texas  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  who  have  prcvserved  some  of 
the  traditions  and  records  of  their  respective  families. 

The  Ruiz,  Seguin  and  Navarro  families  intermarried  and  many 
useful  citizens  of  this  section  of  the  State  resulted  from  those  unions. 

That  staunch  adopted  son  of  Texas,  Reverend  Homer  S.  Thrall, 
preserved  by  the  various  products  of  his  pen  much  of  the  intimate 
early  history  of  Texas,  and,  due  to  his  education  and  to  the  very 
high  charac4:er  of  the  man,  to  his  personal  acquaintanceship  with 
many  of  the  outstanding  characters  of  whom  he  wrote  and  the 
known  thoroughness  of  his  investigations,  his  statements  can  safely 
be  accepted  as  authentic. 

Thrall  was  an  accredited  correspondent  of  The  Texas  Christian 
Advocate  when  it  was  established  in  1847.  He  wrote  many  historical 
sketches  for  various  publications  and  he  wrote  and  published  a 
•"School  History  of  Texas",  a  "Pictorial  History  of  Texas"  and  'His- 
tory of  Texas  Methodism". 

Thrall  in  his  "Pictorial  History  of  Texas",  page  666,  states  that 
the  county  seat  of  Guadalupe,  Seguin,  was  "named  for  Erasmo 
Seguin".  One  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  period  and  with  the 
lecord  and  character  of  those  living  in  the  town  at  that  time  can 
readily  understand  why  they  chose  to  thus  honor,  not  Juan  N.  Se- 
guin, but  his  more  distinguisihed  father,  Don  Erasmo  Seeuin — one 
justly  entitled  to  a  prominent  place  among  the  immortals  of  Texas 
History! 

The  facts  herein  set  forth  as  to  the  life  and  services  of  Don 
Erasmo  Seguin  may  be  verified  by  reference  to  the  following: 

Published  articles  by  Mildred  Burrows  Garrett,  a  loyal  daughter  of 
Wilson  County;  Thrall's  "Pictorial  History  of  Texas";  Texas  His- 
torical Association  Quarterly;  Paddock's  "Texas",  and  other  accredited 
histories  and  papers  of  Texas  and  the  Deed  Records  of  Bexar  County, 
and  are  submitted  with  full  assurance  of  their  authenticity. 

Erasmo  Seguin,  who  after  the  custom  of  his  people  and  as  was 
his  lineal  right,  was  called  "Don  Erasmo",  was  bom  in  1772,  the 
son  of  Don  Basil  Seguin,  one  of  the  original  Canary  Island  settlers 
of  San  Antonio. 

Don  Erasmo  owned  large  bodies  of  land  which  he  obtained  through 
various  grants  and  deed?  situated  generally  between  San  Antonio 
and  Floresville  in  what  is  now  Wilson  County.    His  name  first  ap- 


pears  upon  the  Deed  Record  of  Bexar  County  with  the  note  upon 
the  Index  of  Deed  Records  that  on  October  27,  1814,  the  Spanish 
Government  executed  a  Release-Confiscation  to  a  large  body  of  land 
in  his  favor.  This  instrument,  together  with  many  others  of  that 
period,  is  not  now  obtainable.  The  recorded  copies  of  many  such  in- 
struments were  carried  av/ay  from  San  Fernando  de  Bexar,  some  by 
the  Spaniards  to  Seville  and  others  by  th:;  Mexicans  to  Monclavia  and 
Saltillo.  Copies  and  translations  of  some  of  those  instruments  have 
been  made  and  recorded  in  the  Deed  Records  of  Bexar  County. 

The  records  sihow  that  Don  Erasmo's  title  to  the  first  of  these 
lands  was  evidenced  by  the  ancient  custom  of  "livery  of  seisen", 
that  is,  in  company  with  a  representative  of  the  Government  he  went 
upon  the  land  and  pulled  up  weeds,  threw  stones,  drew  water  from 
a  stream  and  poured  it  back  and  erected  monuments  at  the  corners 
of  his  grant. 

Upon  this  ranch  Don  Erasmo,  in  later  years,  erected  "Casa 
Blanca",  a  wonderful  house  for  that  period,  where  he  and  his  family 
entertained  most  royally — Americans  being  especially  welcome.  This 
place,  also  locally  known  as  "'The  House  of  Don  Erasmo"  is  fairly 
v/ell  preserved.  It  is  situated  about  four  miles  north-west  of  Flores- 
ville  and  one-half  mile  west  of  the  highway  to  San  Antonio.  It  is 
upon  a  considerable  elevation,  overlooks  the  surrounding  country,  its 
broad  veranda  faces  the  rising  sun,  emblematical  of  the  faith  its 
builder  had  in  the  future  of  the  Commonwealth  he  had  done  so 
much  to  establish,  at  its  rear  stands  a  magnificent  live  oak  tree 
under  whose  branches  was  dug  a  well  of  swset  water.  Its  outer 
walls  are  of  red  sand  stone  plastered  white,  its  inner  walls  are  of 
oobie  brick — the  depth  of  both  walls  being  approximately  twenty 
inches.  The  ample  windows  are  set  flush  with  the  outer  wall,  the 
broad,  deep  window  sills  are  at  a  heighth  from  the  floor  to  form 
comfortable  seats.  The  lower  "half  story"  rises  above  the  ground 
and  provided  an.ple  "cellar  space"  and  ventilation.  The  entire  struc- 
ture  is   suggestive   of  the   foresight   and   refinement   of   its    builder. 

He  owned  vast  herds  of  cattle  and  horses  which  gTazed  not  only 
upon  his  own  lands  but  over  a  large  part  of  what  is  now  eastern 
Bexar,  southern  Guadalupe  and  western  Wilson.  His  generosity 
with  the  use  of  his  horses  and  cattle  was  at  times  abused  by  his 
less  fortunate  neighbors. 

Don  Bh-asmo  Seguin  from  his  early  days  appeared  as  a  public 
.jpirited  citizen  and  frequently  served  his  people  in  various  official 
capacities.  He  was  postmaster  at  San  Fernando  in  1815,  and  Alcade 
of  San  Antonio. 

The  outstanding  service  of  his  career,  that  which  will  forever  en- 
dear his  memory  to  the  hearts  of  all  loyal  Texans,  was  rendered  in 
conjunction  with  Don  Juan  Martin  de  Veramandi  (father-in-law  of 
James  Bowie  and  who  was  afterwards  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Coa- 
huila  and  Texas).  The  Spanish  Governor  Martinez  from  his  royal 
palace  at  San  Antonio  de  Bexar  appointed  Don  Erasmo  Seguin  as 
Commissioner   to   meet  the   incoming   colonists   of   Austin  at   Nachi- 


toches  at  the  'border  of  the  Neutral  Ground  which  had  been  estab- 
lished by  General  Wilkinson  of  the  Anerican  forces  and  General 
Herrera  of  the  Spanish  forces  in  1804,  to  see  that  all  of  the  condi- 
tions of  their  entry  into  the  Province  were  complied  with  and  to  con- 
duct them  safely  into  the  interior. 

Commissioner  Don  E'rasino  Seguin  was  accompanied  on  this  mis- 
sion by  Veramandi.  After  meeting-  Austin  and  some  of  his  colonists 
al;  Nachitoches  the  Commissioner,  Veramandi,  Au.stin  and  an  escort 
pushed  on  along  the  old  San  Antonio  Road  towards  Bexar  in  order 
to  meet  Governor  Martinez  and  complete  the  arrangements  for  the 
settlement  of  the  Colonists. 

On  August  the  10th,  1821,  while  this  party  was  camped  on  the 
Guadalupe,  messengers  to  Don  Erasmo  Seguin  reached  the  party  and 
imparted  the  glorious  news  that  Mexico  had  achieved  her  independ- 
ence from  Spain. 

During  the  long  march  and  while  engaged  in  the  search  for  a 
suitable  site  for  a  colony  for  the  Americans  a  warm  friendship, 
born  of  mutual  admiration,  sprar.g  up  between  Austin  and  Seguin 
which  was  destined  to  endure  through  the  years  and  which  inured 
particularly  to  the  benefit  of  the  colonists.  The  broad,  liberal  and 
progressive  theories  of  government  entertained  by  Austin  were  at 
this  favorable  opportunity  transmitted  to  the  receptive  mind  of 
Erasmo  Seguin  and  had  a  most  beneficial  effect  upon  the  future  of 
Texas. 

In  1821  Mexico  gained  its  independence  from  Spain  and  in  1824 
Erasmo  Seguin  was  Deputy  from  Texas  to  the  National  Congress  at 
Mexico  City.  As  the  Deputy  for  Texas  he  espoused  the  principles 
of  the  Liberal  Party  and  assisted  in  forming  the  first  Liberal  Con- 
stitution, the  same  to  be  forever  known  as  the  Constitution  of  1824, 
"Acta  Constitutiva  de  la  Federacion  Mexicana",  the  Federation  then 
comprising  nineteen  states  and  five  territories  whose  first  President 
was  Guadalupe  Victoria. 

In  1833,  when  the  political  union  of  Coahuila  and  Teras  became 
unsatisfactory  to  the  colonists,  the  Ayuntamiento  of  DeWitt's  Colony 
at  Gonzales  appointed  Stephen  F.  Austin,  James  B.  Miller  and 
Erasmo  Seguin  as  Commissioners  to  represent  the  colonists  at  the 
National  Capitol  and  to  endeavor  to  secure  a  separate  state  govern- 
ment. In  order  to  allay  the  hostility  of  Santa  Anna  it  was  deemed 
advisable  to  at  that  time  abandon  the  effort  to  secure  political  relief. 
Later  the  effort  was  renewed,  Austin  went  to  Mexico  City  and  be- 
cause of  his  efforts  in  this  direction  was  for  a  long  time  confined 
there  in  prison. 

When  the  Dictator  Santa  Anna  abrogated  the  Constitution  of 
1824  and  prorogued  the  Congress  of  Coahuila  and  Texas,  denying  to 
the  colonists  the  political  and  social  rights  guaranteed  to  them  by 
that  Constitution,  Austin  was  among  the  first  of  the  Americans  to 
protest.  He  vigorously  asserted  the  liberties  of  the  colonists  as 
Mexican  citizens  under  the  Constitution  of  1824. 

The  first  Revolutionary  Meeting  convened  to  protest  against  the 


Bancroft  Ubi 

tyranny  of  Santa  Anna  was  held  at  San  Antonio,  October  13,  1934 
and  at  that  time  and  place  Don  Erasmo  Seguin  issued  a  call  for  a 
Constitutional  Convention  for  November  15,  1834,  but  owing  to  the 
limited  notice  the  people  failed  to  respond. 

Let  it  never  be  forgotten  that  when  diplomacy  failed,  when  the 
despot  Santa  Anna  marched  into  Texas  at  the  head  of  his  servile 
minions,  and  when  the  colonists  were  in  confusion,  that  it  was  under 
the  Green,  White  and  Red  flag  bearing  upon  its  folds  the  numerals 
'  1824",  the  Constitutional  Flag  of  Mexico,  the  flag  that  Don  Erasmo 
Seguin  had  helped  to  make,  that  the  immortal  Travis,  Crockett,  Bon- 
ham,  Bowie  and  tiheir  inspired  co-patriots  defended  the  Alamo  from 
whose  sacked  and  ruined  walls  there  rose  the  sacrificial  smoke  of 
their  burning  bodies  that  led  the  Texans  on  to  victory  and  inde- 
pendence at  San  Jacinto! 

Upon  the  fall  of  the  Alamo  Don  Erasmo  and  the  members  of  his 
family  were  compelled  to  abandon  their  hitherto  peaceful  acres  which 
had  pastured  the  hard-ridden  and  weary  horses  of  the  soldiers  of 
Texas  and  furnished  cattle  for  the  nourishment  of  their  brave  riders 
and  seek  safety  in  flight  towards  the  army  of  Sam  Houston.  Follow- 
ing San  Jacinto  they  returned  to  find  their  splendid  ranch  pillaged 
of  much  that  they  had  valued. 

Don  E'rasmo  Seguin  died  at  his  home  in  what  is  now  Wilson  County 
in  1857  mourned  by  those  who  had  come  in  contact  with  his  engaging 
personality  and  revered  by  those  who  knew  of  his  service  to  his 
country. 

Many  men,  native  Ibom  and  adopted  sons,  served  Texas  faithfully 
during  the  perilous  days  of  her  early  hi&tory  and  among  the  grandest 
of  them  all  Don  Erasmo  Seguin  is  an  outstanding  figure  for  it  was 
he  who  thrice  rendered  preeminent  service  to  the  government  which 
he  helped  to  create! 

He  was  the  Commissioner  who  at  the  direction  of  the  Spanish 
Governor  welcomed  and  conducted  the  American  Colonists  into  Texas; 
he  was  the  Deputy  from  Texas  to  the  National  Congress  which  formu- 
lated the  first  Constitution  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico;  and  it  was  he 
who  from  San  Antonio  de  Bexar — the  birthplace  of  Texas  Independ- 
erce — issued  the  summons  for  the  First  Constitutional  Convention  to 
be  called  in  Texas! 

It  is  believed  that  his  now  unmarked  grave  lies  not  in  the  "El 
Canipo  Santo"  which  was  later  located  near  the  road,  but  close  by 
the  banks  of  the  San  Antonio  River,  and  it  might  be  said  that  the 
wild  winds  of  a  winter  day  as  they  blow  through  the  leafless  branches 
of  the  willow  trees  sound  a  mournful  Requiem  for  the  soul  of  the 
departed  dead;  but  let  all  loyal  and  grateful  Texans  rather  say  that 
the  soft  breezes  of  the  springtime  as  they  gently  stir  the  waving 
inesquite  grass  growing  over  his  final  resting  place,  and  the  glad 
songs  of  the  wild  bird's,  are  a  grand  and  exquisite  Te  Deum  of 
praise  for  the  useful  and  glorious  life  of  service  and  the  untarnished 
reputation  of  one  who  made  no  bounteous  a  contribution  to  the  crea- 
tion of  a  Sovereign   State! 


LIthomount 

Pamphlet 

Binder 

Gaylord  Bros.,  Inc. 

Makers 

Stockton,  Calif. 

m  JAN.  21.  1908 


